[OR_Archaeology] OAS lecture series begins Sept. 7th with Dr. Cameron Smith, PSU

[Susan White]

The Oregon Archaeological Society begins its 2010-2011 lecture series on
September 7. 

Dr. Cameron Smith is the featured lecturer; his talk is titled
“Cold-Weather People: What Neanderthals Were, and What they Can
Tell Us  About Ourselves.” 

Recent, intense investigation into the world of the 
Neanderthals--proto-humans who lived in the Near East and Europe from 
300,000 to 30,000 years ago--has revealed more details than many
archaeologists ever imagined. Although Neanderthals buried some of 
their deceased, and probably spoke a kind of language, a vast gulf of  
cognitive processes separated them from the Modern people who
eventually replaced them. In this lecture, Smith will review the new
evidence and discuss the cutting-edge interpretations being explored.

Smith, a pre-historian at Portland State University, has studied in
England, Canada and the United States. His archaeological fieldwork
extends from investigating the earliest hominids of Africa to underwater
archaeology in coastal Ecuador. His publications include many scientific
works, writing for magazines such as Scientific  
American MIND, and the book "The Top Ten Myths About Evolution", 
recently endorsed by the American Association for the Advancement of 
Science.

The presentation is at Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) at
7:45 PM, and is free and open to the public. The talk is preceded at 7
PM by a general business meeting, which is also open to the public 

See www.oregonarchaeological.org or call 503-727-3507 for more
information.